If you are an active duty soldier and receive a military DUI (drunk driving) charge, you may face civilian DUI penalties or military DUI punishment. This article will describe what military penalties are available and under what circumstances they are invoked. https://youtu.be/ekx44mzHy3kWho Will Prosecute My Military DUI?The overwhelming number of DUI cases will be prosecuted in the civilian courts and the military authorities will not seek jurisdiction. Punishment under the Uniformed Code of Military Justice (court martial/Article 15s) is not available to the military if the civilian authorities are prosecuting your DUI case. This is true even if your DUI case gets dismissed or reduced. ...

Who Has Jurisdiction Over the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base DUI?
Jurisdiction over DUI charges at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base may be military, civilian or both. When both entities file charges, they often coordinate to determine which will prosecute the offense criminally. Because he or she is always subject to the UCMJ, an offender cannot be tried twice criminally. But because he or she is always subject to the UCMJ, they may face both civilian and military administrative punishment.The place of arrest and the authorities involved typically dictate jurisdiction. An active-duty serviceperson arrested on-base and charged with DUI faces one or more of...

Just how opposed were the Founding Fathers to a standing army?
Their revolutionary experience of the founding fathers forged a deep mistrust of standing armies. They viewed them as a pernicious threat to liberty. Here are just a few quotes that explain how and why the idea (what we would call a police state today) was anathema to the first Americans.During the Virginia ratifying convention, James Madison described a standing army as the “greatest mischief that can happen.”In addition, fellow delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1787, George Mason put a finer point on it:
"No man has a greater regard...

An Out-of-State OVI Offense Enhances A Wright-Patterson OVI
Babb & Rowland and DaytonDUI proudly serve the military community in and around Wright-Patterson A.F.B.. One of the recurring questions we get from military personnel is whether or not a federal or out-of-state DUI can be used to enhance a Wright-Patterson OVI. At one time they did not. Now, however, the offenses received in another state or on federal property do count. See Ohio Revised Code 4511.181(A). DUI defense attorneys challenged the ex post facto application of R.C. 4511.181(A) but the courts have held that since it serves only as an enhancement it meets...

Just how opposed were the Founding Fathers to a pervasive militarized police force? Their revolutionary experience forged a deep mistrust of standing armies. They were viewed as a pernicious threat to liberty. Here are just a few quotes that explain how and why the idea (what we would call a police state today) was anathema to the first Americans.During the Virginia ratifying convention, James Madison described a standing army as the “greatest mischief that can happen.”Fellow delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1787, George Mason put a finer point on it:
No man has a greater regard for the military gentlemen...

We frequently receive questions about an active-duty service members requirement to report an Air Force DUI arrest to his superiors. We rely upon a decision (HERE) from the United States Navy, Navy Admin 373/11, which states that, in light of the decision in U.S. v. Serianne:
1. THIS NAVADMIN AMPLIFIES REF A, WHICH REVISED ARTICLE 1137 TO REF B TO INCORPORATE AND EXTEND REF C. THIS NAVADMIN ALSO AMENDS REFS D THROUGH J, AS NOTED BELOW.2. CRIMINAL CONVICTIONS. PER REF A, U.S. NAVY REGULATIONS NOW REQUIRE THAT ALL PERSONS IN THE NAVAL SERVICE SELF-REPORT CRIMINAL CONVICTIONS, INCLUDING FOREIGN CONVICTIONS.3. CIVILIAN ARRESTS AND...

If you get an Active Duty DUI charge what law applies and where will you be punished? This article (which owes a nod to John Hunsucker and the Hunsuker Legal Group, NCDD Winter Session 2015) explores where your case will be heard and what law applies.The Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) applies to all active service members and all active duty DUI cases, regardless of where a crime occurs. However, jurisdiction over DUI charges may be military, civilian or both. When both entities file charges, they often coordinate to determine which will prosecute the offense criminally. An offender cannot be tried twice...

Do you face a military OVI? The consequences of an OVI while serving active duty in the military can be devastating: dishonorable discharge, rank reduction, pay deduction, loss of security clearance, fines and jail time and mandatory military counseling sessions and potential exclusion from some sensitive operations. Military regulations often subject its members to enhanced Non-Judicial Punishment (NJP), which go above and beyond the punishments allowed by civilian law. We are seeing more cases where the leadership is “cracking down” on drunk driving offenses and promising to end the career of personnel who are found guilty of a military OVI offense. This...

What do I do if I have a Wright-Patterson Air Force Base DUI (drunk driving) arrest?My practice is proud to serve the military community in and around Wright-Patterson A.F.B.. One of the recurring questions we get from military personnel is whether or not a federal or out-of-state DUI can be used to enhance a DUI they get here in Ohio. At one time they did not. Now, however, the offenses received in another state or on federal property do count. See Ohio Revised Code 4511.181(A). DUI defense attorneys challenged the ex post facto application of R.C. 4511.181(A) but the courts have...

In a great article for the New American, attorney Joe Wolverton reviews the horrors of militarized police set forth in the Randy Balko book, "Rise of the Warrior Cop." I have expressed my admiration for the book as a call for a return to "the law" as it was traditionally understood throughout our history. The publisher of Balko's Rise of the Warrior Cop book, explains:
The American approach to law enforcement was forged by the experience of revolution. Emerging as they did from the shadow of British rule, the country's founders would likely have viewed police, as they exist today, as a standing army,...